The Boy Guide
by Sharinganblossom
Summary: Holy Abercrombie model...yea this is going to be a long summer. Watch Sakura as she struggles to survive in her huge new home, and befriend the unfriendly Sasuke Uchiha.
1. One Long Summer

The Boy Guide

Summary: Haruno Sakura's parents are world famous surgeons, so she's always moving to different places. Finally, she decides to stay put, but she has to live with her parent's friends, the Uchiha's. It wouldn't be a problem……except for the fact that the Uchiha's have two _gods_ for sons. Now she has to learn to get along with the youngest one if she wants to survive the summer, but what happens if they get along better than expected? Will Sakura decide to stay with the Uchiha's a little longer, or will they drive her insane?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, and I was inspired by the _great_ book, Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowen Boys, by Kate Brian.

Prologue

"You're leaving me?!"

I swear if she screams in my ear one more time I'm going to throw the bottle of red paint, in my hand, at her head.

"For the last time Ino-pig, I'll write you, e-mail you, I'll even call you everyday!"

"But if you're not here, who's going to keep me from ripping Temari's ponytails out?!"

"Can't you at least try to stay out of trouble?"

Her expression saddened. "…No….I'm really gonna miss you Forehead-girl."

I turned my gaze away and set the paint bottle on the floor next to me.

I glanced at the map my parents gave me laid out on my other side. Ino had circled "Suna" in bright red ink and tried to cross out everything else in black but I had pulled it away. Unfortunately her perfectly manicured nails managed to rip it at the top.

Ino stood and pulled a picture off of my dresser. I could see her sapphire eyes brimming with tears.

Ino was the only real friend that I ever had. I moved around a lot with my parents, since they were world class surgeons and all, so I never had a real home town or real friends. Suna had been the place that we stayed in the longest.

She turned to me and handed me the picture before wiping her hand across her eyes.

I glanced at it. It was a picture we took together at the end of our sophomore year. Her platinum blonde hair was shorter then, now it was grown out to her waist.

I sat the picture on top of the map and stood up. "Look, I don't want to leave but it's not my choice."

Ino stamped her foot in anger. "You have to have a say in this. You're almost a senior in high school! You should be able to decide where you want to live on your own! There has to be some other option!"

"Ino I don't have anywhere else to go and my parents don't want me living by myself yet….although they did mention something…."

Ino snapped out of her rage and grabbed my arm. "What did they mention? Come on girl, out with it!"

I pulled my arm out of her grasp. "It's nothing; I mean it's not any better than moving 5,000 miles away."

"I don't care! Tell me what it is!"

I sighed and sat back down. Ino followed suit.

"Well, my parent's have these really close friends that live in Konoha, and they said that I could stay with them, but I'd still have to move."

To my surprise Ino was smiling. She jumped back up and started punching the air.

"This is great! There's hope for us yet!"

I leaned back on my hands to look at her, an expression of shock playing on my face. "What are you talking about?! I'm going to be living with some strangers!"

"Well you said they were friends of your parents didn't you?"

"Yeah, Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, but I've never actually met them myself."

Ino paused with her mouth agape. "Your folks are friends with the Uchiha's? _The _Uchiha's?!"

"Yeah, so what?"

"So what?! They are the richest people in the fire country! And I heard that their sons were like, _the _hottest guys in the city!"

Now it was my turn to look shocked. First Ino was actually on board with the idea of me living with strangers, and now I find out that my only other option includes sharing a house with _boys_?! And Ino was happy about that?!

Okay, I'm Haruno Sakura. The pink-haired, loner artist who has no skills in the department of _boys_ what-so-ever! I feel strange even saying the word "_boy"_! Plus I'm not all that girly either. I always wear t-shirts, hats, and jeans; Ino's the one who gets all the guys, not me!

"Are you kidding me?! You know how I get around guys!"

"Oh come on! This could be your big chance to get over that, and you could see what guys are really like! You know, get inside their heads!"

I didn't want to admit that that sounded pretty good, so I went back to the negatives. "But I'd still have to move, how is that an improvement?"

"Because Konoha's only an hour long drive away! I could come see you anytime I want! Plus, you'd get to live in a mansion with the richest family ever and the two hottest guys on the planet!"

I _really _hated to admit that all of her points were totally right.

"Come on Forehead-girl, you could figure out what guys really think about and create a guide….a boy guide! And you could send your entries to me every day! You'd be doing girls everywhere a humongous favor! Come on what do ya say?"

Ino looked hopeful but her eyes had a look in them that said that she had already won. She knew that I couldn't resist a challenge; and creating a Boy Guide while living with some hot guys was _defiantly_ going to be a challenge for me.

I sighed and looked at my now half empty room and walked to the doorway. I turned back to Ino. "This is going to be a _long_ summer."


	2. Holy Abercrombie Model

Chapter 1

"Don't worry sweetie, we're going to take good care of you."

I was sitting in the front seat of a silver Mercedes Benz. I never thought that I of all people would get to ride in a car like this.

Apparently Mrs. Uchiha decided that _she_ wanted to drive me instead of having a limo pick me up. She said that she wanted to make me feel welcome by getting to know who I'd be living with….unfortunately that didn't prepare me for her children.

I was silently prepping myself for the worst as Mrs. Uchiha went on about how great it was having another girl in the house.

I looked down at my tote bag that sat in my lap. It was red with cherries patched into it along with an army patch and several buttons with band names on them like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. It also had some painted hand prints on it.

I traced every design before looking into the mirror on the car door.

I was wearing a pair of green jeans that I picked out of the boys section at an Abercrombie store a few months ago along with a gray t-shirt that had "Art" written on it in typewriter letters. I also wore some army dog tags on a chain around my neck and a camouflage army cap over my loose shoulder length pink hair. My dad used to work for the army's medic core so my family was big supporters of our troops.

I glanced down at my black converse sneakers that I'd drawn and written all over.

"Sakura, are you okay?"

I snapped my head up. "Yeah, just a little nervous I guess." Although "nervous" was putting it mildly.

She patted my leg and gave me a warm, motherly smile. Apparently she wasn't one of those stuck up moms you see on T.V. who never paid any attention to their kids. She was a real, caring mom.

"Don't worry, Mr. Uchiha and I will make sure that you feel comfortable."

I was starting to wonder if she was purposely forgetting to mention her kids so that she wouldn't freak me out, which now that I think about it only made me freak out more. "Thank you Mrs. Uchiha."

She removed her hand and sort of scowled but then smiled. "You don't have to call me Mrs. Uchiha, it makes me feel old, you may just call me Mikoto if you'd like."

"Oh, okay Mikoto-san."

She just laughed, but her laugh made me smile and feel a little lighter…at least until I saw her drive up to the huge metal gates of the Uchiha estate.

She rolled down her window and punched in a code on a silver keypad. When it beeped, the giant metal gates opened and she drove inside.

Great, I was stuck in here now. If I tried to escape I'd only be met with a huge gate that had to have a code to open it. Perfect, just perfect.

I fiddled with the patches on my bag nervously as I saw a huge white mansion come into view.

There was a large cobblestone circle drive in front of the mansion that curved around a large fountain.

There was already a limo, a blue viper, a black mustang, and a black motorcycle already parked in the drive. I could only assume that the bike and at least one of the cars belonged to their sons.

She parked the car behind the mustang. "Well here we are. Why don't you come inside and meet the family and then we'll get you settled in?" She was already out of the car before I could reply.

I took in a deep breath and opened the door. I stepped out, slung my bag over my shoulder and followed Mikoto up the steps of her house.

A butler opened the door and nodded at us. Mikoto told him something about lunch plans and continued into the house. I followed her into what looked like a five star hotel lobby.

"Fugaku! Boys! Come downstairs and meet Sakura!"

I cringed. She had just made me the center of attention, when I hated being in the spotlight.

I saw a door open on the right, and I heard clomping coming from upstairs. They were coming out of everywhere which made me feel all the more panicked.

The door on the left had revealed an older man, maybe around Mikoto's age, who had a stern look on his face that made it hard to tell whether he was happy, mad, or feeling any emotion at all. He had pitch black hair, unlike Mikoto's who had a bluish tinge to it, and he was wearing the remains of a business suit. His eyes were as dark and dull as his hair, with no feeling at all. I assumed that he was her husband.

I heard the previous footsteps from the stairs stop and I turned to see a guy that looked older than me, but he was _defiantly _not Mikoto's spouse.

He was young and gorgeous. He had the same pitch black hair that the older man had, but it was longer and pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt. I noticed that he had two even scars on either side of his nose. His eyes were the same as his father's as he examined me, but when he was done they seemed to soften. He gave me a small smile and moved closer.

"Hello, you must be Sakura-san. My name is Itachi."

He held out his hand to me. I must have given him a strange look because he chuckled.

"I won't bite you if that's what you're worried about."

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit, but I still gave him my hand. My face only got hotter when he kissed my hand rather than shaking it.

Mikoto giggled and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Sakura; he's just a gentleman, unlike my youngest son and his father." She shot her husband a stern look.

He coughed and nodded his head at me. "Hello Ms. Haruno, I am Uchiha Fugaku."

It seemed like he was mad at me so I bowed respectfully. "It's nice to meet you sir."

He turned and started to leave, but stopped and then glanced at me over his shoulder. "You will call me Uchiha-san." He walked out of the room after that.

…..Okay…I _will _call him Uchiha-san? Not even 'you _may _call me Uchiha-san'?! I may not be good at being in the spotlight or very comfortable being around boys, but I do have an extremely short temper. I knew that now might not be the best time to release it so I just turned away and looked at Mikoto, trying to keep my fuming breaths even.

"Um…is Uchiha-san in a bad mood?"

Itachi chuckled harder this time while Mikoto gave a soft giggle.

"On the contrary, he's actually in a very fine mood today."

The next thing I heard was a door on the right slam open.

I looked and had to keep my mouth from dropping. Standing there was, what I assumed, the last of the Uchiha clan.

He looked about my age and had on a dark blue muscle shirt with a pair of baggy jeans. He was in great shape from what I saw; not too built but not too scrawny either. He had the same black/blue hair that his mom had but it was spiked up in the back, and his eyes were dark like the rest of his family's. He was covered in, what looked like, motor oil and was wiping some off of his hands on a white shop towel.

He looked at his mom and brother before his eyes rested on me.

Being under his stare made me tense up, and he seemed to notice because he scoffed right after. He walked over to Mikoto.

"You wanted something?"

She glared at him. "I wanted you to meet Sakura. She's the one who will be staying with us for the time being. Sakura, this is my youngest son, Sasuke."

He gave me a look that was somewhere between disgusted and annoyed.

Now that really ticked me off. Although I was still a little intimidated by him, being a hot guy and all, I glared back.

A look of surprise flashed through his eyes for a split second, but he turned away and went back to where he came from before I could confirm my suspicions.

Mikoto sighed and Itachi muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'foolish little brother.'

"I'm sorry for my son's behavior; he's not very social."

She turned to the stairs and looked at me and Itachi. "I'm going to go get some towels to put in your new room, Itachi would you help her get her bags and show her to her new room; I'll meet you up there shortly."

I watched Mikoto walk upstairs before I followed Itachi out the door and back to the car.

"I'm sorry about my brother Sakura-san." Itachi said when we walked down the front steps.

We walked over to the car and Itachi took out his mom's keys and popped the trunk.

"It's okay, but why did he seem to hate me so much? Did I do something wrong?"

Itachi noticed me standing by the back door and unlocked it so that I could get my other bags. "No, you didn't do anything wrong," Itachi said as he lifted two of my suitcases out of the trunk. "It's like my mom said, he's not very social, and believe it or not he's not too keen on women."

I lifted my blue duffle bag out of the back seat and reached for my black backpack that was splattered with paint. "What do you mean he's 'not too keen on women'?"

Itachi closed the trunk. "I'm sure you've noticed that my brother and I aren't exactly….well 'ugly', right?"

He looked at me and gave an impish smile. I could tell that he didn't want to make me uncomfortable and so far he'd been really cool with me, so I decided that maybe this one wouldn't be hard to handle….his brother was a completely different story though.

I set down my backpack with my duffle bag and closed the door. "You're kidding right? You guys look like Abercrombie models!"

He laughed and that made me beam with happiness. I could at least get along with one of these boys.

He stopped laughing and looked at me again with a gentle smile. "Well, anyway, what I meant was that we tend to have a lot of girls looking to date us. It annoys Sasuke though because they're all fake fan girls, and he _really _does not like his fan girls. I guess when he saw you he just assumed that you were another one of them. Just let him get used to you, I'm sure he'll come around."

Yeah, right, he'll get used to me. I think it'd be best if I stayed away from him for now.

Itachi lifted my bags and slouched a little to the left. "What do you have in here, bricks?" He gestured toward the suitcase in his left hand.

I giggled a little. "I have a lot of books."

"Did you ever hear of paperbacks?"

We laughed and I lifted my backpack over my free shoulder and picked up the duffle bag.

Itachi glanced at me. "I take it you're an artist?"

I looked at my attire and grinned. "Yep."

"Huh, I'll have to talk to my mom about fixing one of the extra rooms up into a studio."

I paused. I had been saving up to rent out a small shed space a few blocks down from my old house to turn it into a small studio, and now it was just being handed over to me.

"You really don't have to do that, I mean I haven't even earned it."

He smiled. "I'll tell you what, if I can convince my mom to give you the space, then you'll help me turn it into a studio."

"Are you sure? It still doesn't sound right."

"Trust me, it's the least I could do, I mean come on, anyone who has the guts to come live with us deserves this."

He started up to the front door and I followed, but after what he had just told me, I was starting to feel that same sinking feeling I had felt all morning.


	3. How To Get Adjusted

Chapter 2

Itachi walked me to my room when we got my bags up to the house. He threw my suitcases on the bed and opened the heavy one to see that it was indeed filled with my books.

He was going to open the other one but I told him that my clothes were in there. He blushed a little and gave me a sheepish smile before we were interrupted by Mikoto coming in with a stack of fresh white towels.

"These are for tomorrow morning."

She set them on a large, red, cushioned seat at the foot of my new bed.

Itachi and I exchanged a look. I nodded and he walked up to his mother.

"You know mom, Sakura-san is an artist, so I was thinking that we might be able to turn one of our spare rooms into a studio for her to work in."

Mikoto glanced at my few paint splattered bags and my matching attire. I opened my duffle bag to reveal all of my brushes, paints, and other various supplies.

Mikoto smiled. "Well what do you know; we have an artist living with us! This is so exciting!"

I smiled. "I'd love to give you a spare room Sakura, but we don't have any in the house, although we do have a small guest house in the back yard that we never did finish, I suppose you could have that, though I'm not sure how you plan to fix it up."

This is where Itachi stepped in. "I already told her that I'd help her fix it up."

"That's very thoughtful of you Itachi."

Mikoto walked over to the window and glanced outback. "I think it'd be perfect for a little studio." She turned to me. "Sakura I'd like to take you shopping tomorrow, I'm sure you need some clothes, shampoo, you know the basics. Afterward we can come pick up Itachi and go get whatever you need to start working on it."

I really wasn't much of a shopper, much to the surprise of my best friend, Ino, who was practically the bargain queen, but I did need a few things to get settled in, and we were probably going to need a lot of supplies if we planned on fixing up a studio. "Sure, that sounds great Mikoto-san."

She gave me one of her bright, motherly smiles and left the room.

Itachi walked over to my duffle bag and fished through all of the supplies before glancing up at me. "I'm guessing this stuff isn't going to be enough to paint a whole room huh?"

I laughed. "No, we're going to need a lot of paint, and I want to pick up some canvases too. I need something to get started on when we get the place fixed up."

"Alright, I'll put that on our list of things to pick up tomorrow."

He stood and wiped his hands on his jeans. "Well I'll leave you alone so that you can unpack I suppose."

With that said he walked out and closed the door behind him.

I looked around my new room. The walls were painted a shade of red that wasn't too bright but not too dark either. I had a white canopy bed with a red canopy and matching comforter with assorted white and red pillows. The comforter was decorated with white cherry blossom patterns that I suppose Mikoto had custom made when she learned my name. I jumped on the bed next to my suitcases and felt that the comforter and the sheets were a soft silky fabric. Man, living with rich people sure does have its perks.

I continued to gaze at the room's features. I had a small white side table on the left of my bed and a white dresser with red flower patterns on it to the right. Mikoto had a small lamp, phone, and alarm clock already sitting on the small side table. In the corner of the room between the side table and the door was a tall white bookshelf for my books.

I looked at the large window that Mikoto had gazed out of earlier. It had a window seat that had the same pattern as my comforter with drawers under it. The curtains were white, long, and flowing. A little to the right was a small desk with a chair pushed under it. It had just enough space for my laptop stored in my backpack.

On the far wall I saw a door with a full length mirror hanging on it, that I assumed was the closet, with a white vanity next to it.

After inspecting my new abode I started to unpack my many bags.

I stood there for a few seconds, gazing at the Uchiha's amazing back yard. I was on a cobblestone path that led to a humongous fountain with a large, shaded patio set next to it. Further to the left was a huge gazebo with a small wooden swing off to one side. Further down the path was a large swimming pool to the right and, what looked like, the guest house to the left.

I walked down the path and stopped at the glass sliding door that went into the guest house. It was already open.

I stepped inside and looked around. There wasn't any carpeting, just the concrete base with a few tarps laid out in some places. The walls weren't finished either, you could still see the original frame of the small space.

I continued to look around. The right wall had another sliding door that showed the swimming pool. The back wall had a few metal shelves against it. The left wall had an old worn couch halfway covered in plastic with Sasuke Uchiha lounged on it with a….wait…Sasuke Uchiha?!

I gasped in surprise and quickly threw my hands over my mouth but it was too late, he heard my gasp and looked up at me over the book in his hands. As soon as he recognized me he glared and sat up straight tossing the book to the floor.

Something tells me that this isn't going to turn out well.


	4. Yea,I'm Reeeeal Smooth

Chapter 3

"What are _you_ doing here?"

I couldn't speak; I was too shocked to see him here.

A growl rumbled in the back of his throat snapping me out of my daze. I crossed my arms over my chest to give me some sort of protection, but I hoped it made me look tough.

"I was just looking around."

He rolled his onyx eyes in annoyance and leaned back against the couch. "Yeah well go look somewhere else, pinky, I don't want you around here."

I clenched my hands into fists, but hid them in my crossed arms. He insulted my hair color, something that most people learned not to do pretty quickly. I wasn't even here for one full day yet and he was already getting on my last nerve.

"Your mom said I could come out here and look at the place since me and your brother are going to fix it up, I won't be here long."

His glare only got harder and now he was standing with his fists clenched at his sides. "You're 'fixing it up'? What's that supposed to mean?"

His tone seemed to be getting louder and that was only fueling my anger. I uncrossed my arms, hopefully in an attempt to show him that I had no intensions of starting a fight with him.

"Yeah, Itachi and I are turning the guest house into a studio."

He marched across the room and was towering over me after a few strides. "Okay listen up pinky, I don't know who you think you are waltzing in here and thinking that you can do whatever you want like some kind of _princess_," He jabbed my forehead. "But this isn't your house, it's _mine_, which means you have _me _to deal with, so you'd better get off your high horse now before I _push_ you off of it."

I rubbed my forehead and glared right back at him. Forget restraint, the only way I was getting out of this was to fight back.

I shoved him causing him to take a step back. He gave me a look somewhere between anger and shock.

"First of all, don't _ever _call me pinky. Second, what is your problem? I've barely even talked to you and you're treating me like the enemy!"

There was so much more I could have shouted at him but part of me was still trying to hold back.

He stepped back up and gave me a shove with a little more power behind it than my own. Something told me that I wasn't the only one holding back.

"Oh please, don't try to act like a victim cause I'm not going to take pity on you and give into your little demands like my mom and Itachi. Your not running my place like your own little castle."

I clenched my fists. I wanted to punch him so hard in the mouth that I could already feel his skin on my white knuckles, but I decided against it. Instead I decided to shove him back with more force than my last one. He was still shoving me so I wasn't about to let up.

"Oh please, and you called _me _a princess? You're the one acting like a spoiled brat!"

It looked like he was about to scream at me but I turned and starting heading out the door that led to the pool. I knew that if this went on one of us would lose it for sure, and that wouldn't be a very good first impression on Mikoto. I paused before walking out and turned to Sasuke.

"Look, just relax okay? Whether you like it or not I'm gonna be here for a while and I don't want to spend my time here fighting with you. I'm not interested in taking over your house okay? So just get over yourself!"

I slammed the door closed behind me and started towards the path that ran along the pool and up to the house. I stopped short when I heard a slam. I turned and saw Sasuke stocking towards me, the door still rattling behind him from when he yanked it open.

He came to a halt in front of me and was so close that I could almost feel his angry breaths on my face. I took a step away and realized that I was at the edge of the pool.

He only came closer as I tried to go farther away. Finally he got fed up and grabbed my arm, holding me in place.

"Don't think you can just walk away from me!"

I couldn't believe him. He acted like he didn't want me here in the first place and got all mad when I walked into the guest house, and now he was telling me that I _couldn't_ leave?!

I pulled my arm out of his grasp and pushed him away from me, taking a step away from the edge of the pool.

"There's nothing for me to walk away from! I haven't given you anything to be mad at me about! I just wanted to get to know you, since I'm going to be living with you, but you're too worried about being the center of attention!"

He came back toward me but this time he didn't push me and I didn't back away. "I'm not going to argue with you."

I scoffed and muttered, "Oh yea, what have we been doing for the past ten minutes?"

He ignored my response and went on. "Look, I'm not interested in any part of you, so just stay away from me."

My jaw dropped. He thought that I was _interested _in him?! He's been nothing but a jerk to me since I got here and he thought that I _liked _him?!

I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth together before I clamped my fists so tight that I could feel a tingling sensation run up my arms.

Finally, I did what I didn't think I'd ever do to a guy in my life. I punched him. I didn't even slaphim like in all of those drama movies that Ino and I watched when I slept over at her place. I punched him right in the jaw.

His head had snapped to the left and he staggered back a step. I knew I wasn't weak, but I also didn't expect my punch to have that much of an effect on him, I mean he was a pretty big guy.

Finally he looked back up at me, rubbing his jaw. It was pretty red on his pale face, and it was probably going to leave a bruise.

Surprisingly he wasn't glaring or attacking me, he actually had an incredulous look on his face. He was shocked that I had hit him, and hit him hard too.

I wanted to run after that, but I was still too angry at him. I walked up to him as he watched me in his daze.

"You think I _like _you?! You've been nothing but a jerk to me since I got here! You're such an arrogant idiot!"

I turned to stomp off. I could feel my face slightly flushed with anger. As I approached the walkway at the edge of the pool I heard footsteps getting closer behind me. I heard Sasuke's voice call, "Wait a minute!"

I was about to sprint for the house when a strong hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

I spun around and put my free hand out to catch myself from falling. My hand met something hard but it sure wasn't concrete. It was still hard, but it was too warm to be the ground. I hadn't realized that my eyes were closed until I opened them.

I saw my hand touching blue fabric, and looked up.

Looking down at me was Sasuke himself. I glanced down briefly to see him clutching my wrist. His grip was firm, but not tight enough to hurt me. I could feel his hand shaking. For a second I was afraid. What if I had made a huge mistake? I made him mad when I hit him, and now he had me motionless in front of him with no one around to witness what could possibly be my last few minutes alive.

I slowly glanced up to see his expression. His face wasn't scrunched in anger like it was when I was arguing with him. He actually seemed…..confused, almost frustrated as he looked at me.

He was at least a head taller than me and with his intense gaze he was starting to make me feel nervous.

I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I removed my hand from his chest and expected him to let go of my wrist, but he continued to hold me there. I remembered the hat that was still on my head and grabbed the brim pulling it down.

After that everything seemed to go in slow motion.

I could feel a hand replacing mine on the brim of my hat and slowly start to pull up.

Not knowing what to do I pulled back on instinct, and wished I had stayed put. My foot didn't touch ground when I moved back.

I started to fall and reached out for something, and felt a hand grab mine, but it was too late, I hit the water. Then everything went back to normal speed.

I saw the blue tiling of the pool all around me and swam to the top of the water.

When I broke the surface I gasped for air and wiped my wet hair from my face.

I looked around frantically and half expected Sasuke to be laughing at me, but I didn't see him anywhere. Then I felt something moving under me.

I quickly swam out of the way just before Sasuke popped out of the water pushing his bangs away from his eyes.

He started looking around until his eyes rested on me, and a whole new expression graced his chiseled face. He seemed mesmerized. I found myself not being able to look away.

"Hey!" I heard a faint call that sounded like Itachi. I broke Sasuke's gaze and found him standing by the back door waving.

I looked back at Sasuke who was also looking at his brother. He slowly turned his gaze back, but I looked away before I could get caught in it again.

I noticed my hat bobbing in the water and grabbed it, swimming towards the edge of the pool.

When I got there I climbed out and ran towards Itachi, focusing on his confused expression when he saw me soaking wet.

I should have been embarrassed and I sort of was, but not because I fell in the pool and seemed to have dragged Sasuke with me, but because of the way he was staring at me for so long that it had me feeling….strange. But mostly because I didn't know what he was feeling while he was staring at me. He just seemed dazed the whole time.

Right now I just wanted to run. I was cold and soaking wet, and I was shaking from the strange encounter with Sasuke.

When I reached Itachi I stopped taking in lungfuls of air.

"Whoa, I thought you guys might be swimming but now I'm not so sure." He took in my expression and seemed worried. "Hey are you okay?"

I wondered how I looked. I was still angry from the fight, confused from the sudden swell of emotions I felt when my eyes met Sasuke's, flustered from his gaze constantly on me, and frustrated because I didn't understand anything that was happening!

"I really just need to get dried off." I looked up at him with a pleading gaze, begging him not to press any farther right now.

He only nodded. "There's a bathroom down the hall from your bedroom if you want to take a warm shower."

I smiled my thanks and hurried inside. The entire time I could still feel Sasuke's eyes on my back.


	5. You're Not So Bad

Disclaimer: I don't own the show okay

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show okay?**

Chapter 4

I sat cross legged on my bed. It was close to midnight and I was still awake, staring at my computer screen trying to sum up my experience with Sasuke to Ino. 

I groaned after hitting the backspace button for the billionth time that evening. 

I had taken a long hot shower after falling in the pool with Sasuke and tried to sort everything out. The looks he had given me just seemed way too weird for me to ignore but after a while I decided to just let it be and worry about it later.

An hour or so later the whole family gathered at the table for dinner and, lucky me, I had to sit across from Sasuke. I kept my eyes on my plate, hardly eating anything. I kept expecting him to lash out at me or tell his parents about what happened, but he didn't. He just sat there, picking at his plate in a similar fashion to mine. 

Itachi was sitting next to him and he kept looking back and forth between the two of us. He would send me confused glances and even worried ones. I didn't tell him what happened and apparently neither did Sasuke. 

Mikoto and Fugaku went on talking about work, and errands to run, not seeming to notice the tension. 

After dinner a maid came by and cleaned the table and everyone was free to leave. Sasuke had left without a word up the stairs. I waited a while until I followed so that I wouldn't risk running into him. 

Going up the stairs Itachi had caught me and asked if everything was okay. Itachi really was sweet and he seemed to be the only one I could talk to here, so I reluctantly decided to give him a few details.

I only told him about running into him in the guest house, the small argument, and finally falling into the pool and dragging Sasuke with me by mistake. I left out the part about him gazing at me. I figured I'd tell Itachi about it when I figured it out myself. 

He gave me a relieved smile and told me that if I had any problems then I was always free to talk to him. At least that made me feel a little better.

I was pulled out of my reverie by a growling sound. I looked down and rubbed my stomach before sighing. I guess picking at my dinner didn't do much good for my appetite.

I set my laptop on the bed and slid off, going to the door and sliding it open. I looked down the hallway to see if anyone was there. After finding the coast clear I walked out into the hallway, and started tip-toeing to the stairs.

I expected it to be dark but surprisingly I could see a faint light coming from the bottom of the stairs, giving me a light to go by.

I walked slowly down the stairs holding the railing for extra guidance until I reached the bottom. The light was coming from the place I was heading for; the kitchen.

I thought that maybe one of the maids was up cleaning still so I took a step closer and peaked around the doorframe. To my horror it wasn't a maid at all, but it was Uchiha Sasuke himself sitting on the counter top in black boxers and a blue t-shirt, eating a tomato. 

I squeaked in surprise and quickly slapped a hand over my mouth, hoping he didn't hear me.

Apparently today just wasn't my day because his head snapped in my direction and his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw me in the doorway. 

Well….there's no turning back now. 

I removed my hand from my lips and stepped into the kitchen giving him a small smile before pulling my gaze away.

I walked to the counter across from him with only the island in the middle separating us. I hoped that would be enough protection in case he suddenly leaped at me. 

I picked up an apple from a fruit basket on the counter and ran it under the sink; all the while I could feel his gaze piercing my back. 

I kept on turning the apple under the sink, stalling while I was trying to think of a course of action. Maybe I should apologize, I mean sure he was a jerk, but I didn't mean to nearly drown him. 

Before I could think of anything else a shadow cast over the sink. I wanted to turn my head but I was afraid to because I knew who was behind me. 

Without warning, a hand reached out and turned the faucet off. I turned and instantly felt my cheeks heat up when my nose brushed a blue clad chest. 

I slowly looked up to see Sasuke's onyx eyes boring into my emerald ones. I held back a squeak and fixed my gaze of the wet apple in my hands. Suddenly I wasn't so hungry anymore.

The silence seemed deafening until his voice broke it, "You'll wake everyone up if you keep the faucet running." 

I gave a quiet, "Sorry" and tried to find a way out of this. His voice was smooth and deep, almost hypnotizing to hear when it wasn't laced with anger. 

Both of us were squished between the island table and the counter barely leaving any space between us. 

I was going to say something about the whole space issue before his body seemed to move closer. I stiffened as one of his strong arms reached past my head, causing his chest to move closer to my face. 

I heard him rip a paper towel off of the roll on the counter behind me. When he finally pulled back he handed it to me. I muttered a thanks and he moved away, his body brushing mine as he went back to the other side of the island. This time he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the island so that he was facing me, still watching me.

He raised an eyebrow when I stood there looking back at him. Finally I wiped the apple with the paper towel and then threw it in the garbage. 

I started to walk out of the kitchen but his voice stopped me. "I'm not going to eat you, you know."

I turned to see him giving me a small smirk before taking a bite out of his tomato.

I could feel my cheeks turn pink before I gave him a lazy glare. "How do I know that?" I retorted, taking a bite out of my apple and leaning against the island opposite from him.

His smirk grew and I gave him a grin of my own before I wiped it away. Why was he acting so nice all of a sudden…..well maybe not _nice _exactly, but he wasn't screaming at me anymore. 

His smirk faded when he saw the serious look in my eyes. Finally I said, "What's with you?"

He raised a questioning eyebrow. I sighed before continuing, "You've been screaming at me and complaining about me all day, and now you're…..not. What's with that?"

He shrugged, taking another bite out of the red fruit in his hand. "Apparently you're not as bad as I assumed."

I gave a small smile, "You know what they say about assuming?"

His eyes narrowed in confusion, signaling me to go on. "It makes an ass out of you and me."

He rolled his eyes and I giggled a little before going on, "So what did you assume I would be like for you to hate me so much?"

He turned his head a little and then I remembered what Itachi had told me that morning. I decided to put that on the table, "Was it because you thought I was a fangirl?" 

He snapped his head back in my direction, his eyes turning into slits. "Who told you about _them_?"

He seemed to spit out the last word like it was a snake that would bite his hand off if he didn't get it out fast enough. 

I fingered my apple. "Itachi told me about you two's…. I guess you would call it 'reputation', so he thought that maybe you didn't like me because you thought I was like all those other girls that cling to you guys."

"Hn"

I raised a brow in confusion. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That grunt thing you just did…..it sounds like a bird call or something."

He stared at me for a while before he chuckled and gave that smirk of his before finally turning back to me. "I guess you're not a fangirl are you?"

I glared at him and nearly chucked my apple at his head. "Obviously not."

He popped the rest of his tomato into his mouth and started for the door. I stopped him with a question though, "So….do you still hate me?"

He turned and stared at me for a bit before replying, "No….you're actually not that bad." Then he smirked and added, "You are pretty annoying though." He ran through the door, dodging my apple nearly colliding with his head. 

My fingers flew across the laptop keys as I typed my first entry to Ino.

**Haruno Sakura's Boy Guide**

**Entry 1**

**Boys jump to conclusions, like thinking you're one of their fangirls when you haven't even said ONE WORD to them yet. **

**It's hard to make a boy come to his senses. Sometimes you have to scream at them, nearly drown them, and then wind the day down with a nice chat over a midnight snack. **

**There you go guys! Okay now I have some ideas for the next chapter but I'm still looking for something better, so if you guys have any ideas please send them to me!**


	6. Bathroom Wars

Hey everybody

**Hey everybody! So sorry I haven't updated in so long! And thank you for all of your thoughts and reviews! Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to xXTroublesomeGirlxX who has an awesome story out called ****Ice Cubes and Pink Lemonade**** which all of you need to go read and review! Now that I've said what needs to be said, on with the next chapter! **

I could feel the sunlight coming through the transparent white curtains and somehow making its way through my eyelids. Not being able to take it anymore I opened my eyes….only to be blinded by the full blast of sunlight flooding the room. I quickly pulled the comforter back over my head, hissing. Obviously I'm not much of a morning person.

I peeked one of my emerald eyes out of the covers and looked around the room….wait….this doesn't look like my room…..

Suddenly I shot up in panic and turned my head in all directions trying to figure out where the hell I was.

I stood up on the bed and was about to start screaming when, in all of my graceful beauty, I tripped over the comforter and fell to the hard wood floor, now tangled in said blankets. Ouch.

I groaned, lifting a hand to rub my aching head when my memory of yesterday came drifting back. This was my new room in the Uchiha mansion….yeah I feel pretty stupid right about now.

I heard a knock on the door and then Itachi peeked his head in saying, "Hey, I heard a loud banging sound coming from…whoa, what happened?"

I glared up at him. He only gave a small smile. It looked like he was holding back a major laughing fit.

"I take it you're not much of a morning person huh?"

I gave a growling sound before reaching down to untangle myself from the sheets.

He chuckled, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

I responded by falling over again.

After I had untangled myself from the sheets (With Itachi's help) I put the layers of blankets back on the bed and went to the closet now filled with my unpacked clothes.

After a few minutes of searching I pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that said "Long Live the Black Parade!" (I LOVE My Chemical Romance!) in white letters. I brought my outfit over to the towels that Mikoto gave me the day before and headed out to the bathroom.

Now as you've seen from my previous display of actions, I am not the most coordinated person in the world, so of course I ran into something on my way to the bathroom causing me to stumble back and fall on my butt. Again, I say ouch.

I rubbed my back side and turned to glare at what I ran in to….only to find _who _I ran in to.

Because _Kami forbid _I have a break for once in my overly-complicated life!

I ran into Sasuke of all people, who just looked down at me like I was an alien or something.

At first I expected him to yell at me for just being there when I remembered our conversation from last night. That kind of relieved me since I knew he didn't hate me anymore, but then again, running into the guy might have changed that.

I grumbled a "sorry" because, remember, I am **not **a morning person.

He just raised an eyebrow at me so I decided to just ignore him and gathered my things that I had dropped and stood up…only to run into his chest, making me drop my things again and of course hurt my little nose. Seriously, somebodyup there must not like me very much.

I growled out my annoyance and rubbed my sore nose before glaring up at him (since he was a head taller than me) and shouted, "Dude, do you have to be so freaking _buffed?!_"

….Wait……did I seriously just say that?!

My body completely froze. I peeked up at him to see him smirking down at me, staring at me with amusement in his eyes.

I turned my gaze back down and finally took in exactly how much space was between us, which was virtually none.

I squeaked and jumped back. My face was burning in embarrassment.

I heard him chuckle and reluctantly looked back up at him. He was still smirking at me. "Well, I wasn't aware of how '_buffed' _I was."

Since I, of course, don't know when to keep my mouth shut, I retorted with, "Like hell you weren't." Before once again slapping my hand over my mouth. He only gave me that throaty chuckle again.

I watched him walk by me. Then I heard him say, "By the way, I like your bed hair."

This time my faced flushed in anger, so I picked up one of the towels, wadded it into a ball, turned, and chucked it at the back of his head. It hit his head with a loud "smack".

I watched as he slowly turned to face me, the towel covering his face before he yanked it off and glared at me. I smirked back, "And you have nice hair too. I mean, if you like hair that's shaped like a chicken's ass."

His eyes flashed dangerously before he sprinted towards me. Whoa…..I didn't see that one coming.

I gave a loud squeak and ran in the opposite direction.

I could hear his footsteps behind me and I turned to the nearest door and slammed it open. The bathroom.

I could still hear Sasuke behind me so I frantically searched around for something I could use to stop him.

He came to a halt in the doorway….and I blasted him with a can on air freshener.

He put a hand up to his face and then gave me a dead panned look. I still had the can in front of me, looking like it was a gun that I was about to fire it. I gave a sheepish laugh and said, "Um…..freeze?"

He rolled his eyes and something on the counter must have caught his eye because that annoying smirk was back on his face. Before I could follow his gaze he squirted me with a bottle of shampoo.

I squealed and turned to shield myself. I dove into the bathtub and yanked the shower curtain closed.

I heard his voice say, "Hiding is pointless Sakura, especially if I know where you are."

I scoffed and said, "Smart ass."

I looked around and gave an evil grin when I found a can of shaving cream. Just as he ripped the curtain back I squirted him. He stumbled back and fell, knocking over a laundry hamper spilling the clothes everywhere.

I started laughing, but then he threw a dirty shirt at me. I yanked it off of my head and said, "Ew! That is so gross!" He just chuckled and threw more dirty clothes at me, so I started to throw them back at him.

After a while I started laughing, completely forgetting how this started and just having fun. Sasuke chuckled every now and then (usually when he smacked me in the head with something) and although he wasn't smiling his eyes were bright with….something akin to happiness.

When I ran out of ammo to throw took the curtain and started to close it again but Sasuke grabbed it and yanked it back over so that he was standing over me and I was sitting in the bath tub.

He had an evil glint in his eyes and I finally caught that he was holding a bottle of baby powder over me. I glared at him, "You wouldn't dare."

He only gave me an evil grin before he tilted it and poured it all over me. I screamed and kicked him in the side of the knee. His leg buckled and he started to fall over. He reached out to grab something to hold onto and found the shower curtain, but as he fell he only pulled it off of the rungs.

In the end, I wound up with my back pressed against the wall with my legs hanging over the side of the tub with Sasuke in between them, his chest pressed to mine with his head buried in my shoulder. The bottle of baby power had fallen and coated us both along with the shower curtains that were now draped over us.

I groaned and gave a laugh, "Well that was fun." Sasuke lifted his head, now having his face **very **close to mine. Suddenly I was very self-conscious, very aware of my legs straddling his waist, and very aware of his chest pressed against mine.

I was blushing, I _knew _I was blushing. And it wasn't helping the fact Sasuke wasn't moving away.

Then I saw it, Sasuke was giving me that weird stare again. I closed my eyes to avoid eye contact and quietly said, "Sasuke, can you please get off of me? It's getting kind of hard to breathe." Which was true, it _was _getting harder to breathe, but it didn't have anything to do with Sasuke's weight on me….

A few seconds later I felt lighter, and strangely colder without the extra body warmth on me.

I opened my eyes to see Sasuke sitting on the edge of the tub next to my leg. He had his head in his hands, like he was frustrated or something. Suddenly I felt a slight pang of guilt, and annoyance. I felt guilty because his frustration seemed to be my fault, and annoyed because I had _just _made peace with the guy and now I probably blew it.

I slowly drew my legs into the tub and stood up. I got out and sat next to him, leaning forward with my arms on my legs. "Hey Sasuke….I'm sorry I made fun of your hair, it really doesn't look bad." I figured that if I apologized it would help smooth this over.

He peeked over at me through his hands before he sat up and gave me a questioning stare. When he didn't say anything I decided to elaborate, "I'm sorry I made fun of you. I didn't mean to make you mad at me…again."

I could've sworn I saw the corners of his mouth twitch a bit. He just shrugged and said, "I'm not mad at you."

My face contorted in confusion and I responded with an intellectual, "Huh?"

He looked over at me and said, "I wasn't mad at you. I'm still not mad at you," He shrugged again. "Of course I did provoke you."

Oh yeah….he made fun of my bed hair. I smiled a bit and punched his arm, "Yeah, you made fun of my bed hair!" He smirked and gave my arm a light shove, "And you made fun of my hair."

I giggled. His hair really did look like a chicken's ass, but for some odd reason it looked good on him.

I decided to keep this going. "I'm sorry I sprayed you with air freshener."

He gave me a dull look and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh no, don't worry about it, I've always wanted to smell like," He lifted up the can that I had dropped earlier, "Pine cones and wild flowers."

I laughed and took the can from him turning it over in my hands before tossing it back on the floor. "Yeah well now I smell like Pantene thanks to you." I wiped some of the shampoo he had squirted me with off of my arm and wiped it on his own.

He grimaced, "You should feel grateful. I smell like flowers and whatever that crap was that you squirted me with." He wiped some shaving cream off of his face and held it out to me, asking what it was.

I giggled, "It's mango scented shaving cream." I saw him shudder. "Why the hell does shaving cream need to have a scent?"

His bewildered expression only made me laugh more, "Because, unlike guys, girls like to smell nice, so everything we use is scented." I knew Ino would be so proud of me for remembering that, she **was **the one who had told me that after all.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say."

I just glanced over at him, and took in the both of our appearances. He was covered in shaving cream and he smelled like fruit and flowers, much to his disappointment. I was covered in shampoo and I started to wish that I was the one who smelled like air freshener because those dirty clothes we threw at each other smelled really bad. We were both covered in baby powder.

I sighed and before I could stop myself I said, "Sasuke, you're probably the only person in the world who could be covered in Kami knows what, and _still _look hot."

…..Seriously….I need a muzzle or something to wear over my mouth.

I stiffened and willed myself not to look over at Sasuke. It was quiet for a bit until I felt his warm breath on my neck as he whispered, "You look pretty cute yourself." And got up and started walking to the door.

I shivered, cursing my, once again, pink face. "W-what about t-the b-bathroom." I mentally slapped myself for stuttering. He stopped and smirked at me from over his shoulder saying, "Don't worry, one of the maids will get it." He stepped out into the hall and glanced to his left before turning back to me, his grin even wider, "If you still need a shower, come to my room, I'll let you use mine. It's two doors down from here."

He walked out of the bathroom leaving me even redder than before. After I calmed my breathing I ran back to my room (picking up my clothes and towels that were still in the hallway) and logged onto my computer.

**BlondieBabe18: **ok…..so u yelled wit 1 of the Uchiha bro's, nearly drowned him, and then had a secret midnight snack wit him all in 1 day?! and this all started because he thought u were his fan girl?? u have to give me more details forehead-girl!

**xXPaint-the-sky-RedXx: **well, yea…but he was yelling at me and crap and so I yelled back and one thing led to another and we both accidentally fell in the Uchiha's pool. l8er on i went to get a snack and he was in there and we just started talking and everything was ok……of course today we had a fight in the bathroom, but that was really fun.

**BlondieBabe18: **wait, a FIGHT in the BATHROOM?! wat the hell were u 2 doin?! and who were u doin this wit?!

**xXPaint-the-sky-RedXx: **ew pig! nothing like THAT! this morning we made fun of each others' hair so he chased me into the bathroom and we started throwing junk at each other. and all of this is happening wit Sasuke.

**BlondieBabe18: **OMG! FOREHEAD U R SOOOOOO LUCKY I CAN'T BELIEVE U'R HAVING A FLING WITH UCHIHA SASUKE!!

**xXPaint-the-sky-RedXx: **u think I'm having a WHAT wit WHO?!

**BlondieBabe18: **U SOOOOOOOO HAVE TO GO OUT WIT HIM! THEN 1 DAY U'LL HAVE LITTLE UCHIHA BABIES AND U'LL B FAMOUS AND RICH!

**xXPaint-the-sky-RedXx: **um….Ino-pig….

**BlondieBabe18: **AND I'LL BE U'R MAID OF HONOR AT THE WEDDING AND THEN I'LL B U'R LITTLE BABY'S GODMOTHER AND I'LL B AN UCHIHA 2!!

**xXPaint-the-sky-RedXx: **…

**BlondieBabe18: **OMG!! I SOOOOOOO CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL I SEE U AND U'R FUTURE HUSBAND!!

**xXPaint-the-sky-RedXx **has signed off.

**BlondieBabe18:** …..Forehead?

**BlondieBabe18: **….

**BlondieBabe18: **I AM SOOOOO GONNA KILL U THE NEXT TIME I SEE U!!

**There you go my faithful reviewers! This was really fun to write! Anyways, all of you need to go and read my newest fic, ****Come to Leave****, and of course xXTroublesomeGirlxX story, ****Ice Cubes and Pink Lemonade! ****Until next time! **


	7. Progress

**Okay, my sister (AikoYamarashi) read this and kept badgering me to update it…plus most of my reviewers seem to really like this story and I thank you all for your support! Enjoy this next installment!**

XXX

Okay…I could do this.

It's not a big deal.

All I have to do is get in, shower, and get out.

My mission is set….okay I am so _not_ ready for this.

I've never even _been_ in a boy's room before! This was like traveling to a foreign planet!!

I vaguely remembered Ino saying something about "Men are from Mars and women are from Venus." So, yes, this was like going to Mars. And, frankly, I wasn't interested in seeing what Mars had to offer.

I clutched my towels and my clothes to my chest with one arm, and hesitantly brought my other one up to knock on Sasuke's door.

_Knock_

_Knock_

_Knock_

I took a step back and waited patiently.

I heard some shuffling coming from inside, followed by a loud banging and, what sounded like, a muffled curse.

In the next second the door opened to reveal Sasuke pulling on a black Kurt Cobain t-shirt (he already had it most of the way on, so I didn't really see any of his skin, much to my gratitude). He was wearing some faded jeans and was shaking out his hair that was wet.

I just stood there blinking, so he raised an eyebrow at me and stared back.

After a few minutes he pointed a thumb over his shoulder and said, "You needed to take a shower, right?"

I nodded dumbly and walked past him, into his room, when he stepped out of the way.

He closed the door behind me and I took the opportunity to look around his room.

It wasn't messy, like I expected it to be. It was actually really clean; even cleaner than my room. His bed was pretty big with a large, black headboard. His sheets and pillows were an assortment of black and navy colors (he even made his bed, he is _way _neater then I am). The carpet was white like all of the carpeting in the house. There was a door on the far left that was open and revealed all of his closet space. To the right of his closet door, in the corner, was a black bookcase filled with albums, books, and picture frames. To the left of his closet door was a cushioned, black chair. On both walls that were on either side of his bed there was a window with the navy curtains pulled closed. I looked to the far right wall and saw another door, but it was closed. Next to the door was a desk with a laptop set up on it and a small stack of albums (like the ones on his bookcase), an iPod, an alarm clock, and a wrench (apparently he worked out in the garage a lot). Next to the desk was a black dresser with a large stereo set up on top of it.

I heard Sasuke clear his throat and I turned around to face him, finding him watching me.

"The bathroom is right over there," He said, pointing to the closed door that was next to the desk.

I nodded and walked over to the door, pulling it open and stepping inside. I turned to look at him and saw that he was _still _watching me.

My eyes widened and I pulled the door closed, making sure to lock it for good measure.

XXX

Man, it felt good to have all of that gunk off of me.

I took my towel and wiped all of the fog off of the large mirror that hung over the sink.

I tossed my towel on the floor in a pile with my dirty clothes, and looked at my new, clean, attire in the mirror.

I was straightening out my shirt when I heard knocking on the door.

"Sakura let me in." It was Sasuke.

I rolled my eyes and said, "It's not polite to interrupt a lady when she's dolling herself up for the day."

He was probably rolling his eyes too as he said, "One: you don't look like the type to 'doll up'," I could almost see his hands forming air quotes around that. "And two: it's also rude to lock someone out of the bathroom when it's _their _bathroom that they're _graciously _allowing you to use."

Damn it…he had a good point. I unlocked the door and he came in.

I gave him a lazy glare and he returned it with a smug smirk.

I turned back to the mirror, twisting my hair and pulling it up against my scalp. I took the hair clip that was on the counter and clipped it into place, shaking my head a little to make sure that it wouldn't fall out.

Sasuke was giving me a weird look.

"What?" I asked.

He leaned his head closer to mine. My eyes widened and I said, "What are you doing?"

I leaned away but his hands came up to grab my upper arms, holding me into place. I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst…when I felt him sniffing my hair.

My eyes popped back open and I looked up at him as he pulled away and relinquished his grip on me.

I blinked as he stared at me with a confused expression. After a few seconds, I asked, "Do you always sniff the girls you meet?"

He gave me a deadpanned look while I just grinned.

"You smell like me." He said.

I tilted my head and he said, "Your hair," as if that would clarify things. This guy obviously didn't spend much of his time with a dictionary growing up, did he?

Figuring that questioning him wouldn't get me anywhere, I tried to piece it together myself.

A light bulb went off, I swear it did.

I motioned to his shampoo bottle sitting on the side of the bathtub, saying, "I had to use your soap and shampoo; your mom is supposed to take me shopping for all of that stuff today."

Sasuke just shrugged and turned to the sink, taking the toothpaste that was sitting in a small soap dish. I grabbed my toothbrush and said, "I'm also supposed to go with Itachi to find the stuff to fix up the guest house out back."

He paused in taking his toothbrush to look at me.

I squirmed a little under his gaze. "I mean…I can tell Itachi not to worry about it…it seems to be a place that you spend time in pretty often…" I thought back to yesterday (it seemed like forever ago now) and remembered how much he fought me on her idea of turning the small guest house into a studio.

Sasuke turned back to his toothbrush, picking it up. "Its fine, you can turn it into a studio if you want. I only ever sat out there on that couch."

He handed the tube of toothpaste to me after he squirted some on his toothbrush, knowing that I didn't have any of my own to use yet. I took it and squirted some on my own toothbrush.

"Well, I kind of wanted to keep the couch out there anyway. Just because I'll be painting out there doesn't mean it has to be _just my_ space. You're more than welcome to go out there whenever you'd like." I said.

I handed the tube back to him and he placed it back on the soap dish.

He nodded and said, "Thanks…I appreciate it."

I smiled at him and he gave me that weird look again from yesterday. I seriously needed to figure out what that look meant, because he seemed to be giving it to me more and more.

I turned away shyly, flipping the water on to run my brush under it before turning it back off.

"And, if you want," I started again, still not looking at him but feeling his eyes on me, "You can come with me and Itachi to get the supplies and everything. Since it's not just mine, you should have a say in what we do to it too. Maybe you could help us fix it up, if you're up for it."

I put the brush in my mouth and started scrubbing away at my teeth, focusing on the faucet. I saw his hands reach out and wet his brush before turning the faucet back off.

He said, "Sure," and started brushing his teeth. I just assumed that he meant, yes, he would go with us, and yes, he would help us fix it up.

We brushed our teeth in silence for a few minutes. Sasuke leaned over after a while to spit in the sink and continue brushing. I repeated his movement, causing him to look over at me.

I smiled around my brush, feeling stupid.

He leaned over to spit again and after a little bit of time I had to spit too, but he had to spit _yet again_. This resulted in us bumping heads. I groaned, rubbing my head. Sasuke didn't say anything and just spit the contents of his mouth into the sink.

After another minute, I rinsed my brush and mouth out and Sasuke mimicked what I did.

I bent down to retrieve my dirty clothes and Sasuke took my toothbrush from me, placing it in the cup next to his own. I looked at him and he just shrugged, dismissing my look. He also took my clothes and used towels from me, tossing them in his dirty clothes hamper.

"Aren't the maids going to think that that's suspicious when they wash the laundry? I mean, it's pretty obvious that those aren't your clothes…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and said, "They don't really care too much about what goes on in this house."

I shrugged and walked past him, but not before I had an evil comment set to tease Sasuke with. Really…you think I would've learned by now to keep my mouth shut, but no.

I turned back to Sasuke and said, "You know Sasuke…you're pretty hard headed. The sink thing is probably going to leave a lump on my head."

I dove out of the way because, as I expected, Sasuke jumped forward to attack me. After he took off after me in the hallway an hour ago, I was pretty much paranoid about him randomly attacking me now.

I landed on the bed, bouncing a little. Sasuke had jumped a little too far and landed next to me before I could move out of the way. The sudden extra weight caused the bed to shift so that Sasuke settled into the bed while I was bounced off. Reaching out without thinking, I grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt to keep myself from falling off. Apparently the momentum only brought him down with me.

I expected to hit the hard floor, but wound up hitting Sasuke's hard chest instead. He flipped us at the last second so that he hit the floor instead of me.

_To keep me from getting hurt…?_

I felt my face heat up when I felt his arms around my waist. I heard him groan from underneath me.

I fought to sit up, but he was still holding his grip on me, so I couldn't put much distance between us. Now I was just kind of laying there, my head rising and falling with every breath that he took.

When he was quiet I wondered if he was hurt and asked, "Sasuke…are you okay?"

I felt him shrug and he said, "Yeah….you're pretty heavy though, Princess."

I twitched and smacked his chest. He only chuckled at my attempt to cause him bodily harm.

We laid there for a few minutes before I cleared my throat and asked, "Umm…are we going to get up anytime soon?"

I expected him to shove me off of him and glare at me, or do something mean of that nature. I was shocked when his grip tightened and he muttered, "No…I like it right here."

I turned my head to look at him and his smoldering eyes were looking down at me (smoldering…I've been reading too many of Ino's romance novels).

It felt like he was moving closer to me, but I didn't do anything about it. I wasn't blushing, or stuttering, or squirming, or anything. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and I was pretty sure that it was my voice whispering, "Sasuke…"

I could feel his breath fanning out over my mouth when a loud slam made me jolt and whip mine, and Sasuke's heads toward the sound.

It was Sasuke's bedroom door that slammed open. And Itachi was standing there, a smirk slowly growing on his face and an eyebrow raised.

"Should I come back in a few minutes?" He asked teasingly.

Okay, _now _my face was heating up. I jumped up, off of Sasuke, feeling his grip slackened by the sudden interruption.

"Itachi, we weren't- I mean we fell and he just – we weren't-"I couldn't form any of my thoughts into words.

Itachi just raised a hand in a motion for me to stop talking. It worked, to say the least.

"My mom told me to come and get you; we're going to get all of your…necessities, first, then she will take us to the hardware store so that we can get the supplies that we need."

I nodded my head dumbly.

"I'm coming with you," I heard from behind me. I turned to look, only to whip my head back around. Sasuke was standing _directly behind me. _

Itachi chuckled and said, "The more the merrier," before winking at me in a way that said 'of-course-he's-coming-since-you-were-just-doing-god-knows-what-with-him'.

I wanted to stick my tongue out but couldn't before he took the opportunity to leave.

Sasuke coughed from behind me, causing my body to stiffen. I laughed nervously and mumbled, "Guess we should get going."

I started to power-walk my way to the door when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I squeaked when he forced me to turn around to face him.

I squeezed my eyes shut, an apology already sitting on my tongue (whether I knew what to apologize for or not), but it stayed trapped in my mouth when I felt his hand move under my chin.

My eyes quickly popped open when I felt something warm touch my forehead.

_His lips…_

Sasuke kissed my forehead.

When I looked up at him he was smirking at me.

Blood pooled into my cheeks and I could only stare at him as he walked past me and out into the hallway, calling back to me, "You coming or what?"

I quickly collected myself and moved my body to the door, not being able to stop the smile that played on my lips.

**Yeah, it's short and kinda suckish, but hey! They're making some progress! **


	8. Cruising

**I know, I know. It's been...what, two years since I updated this? I'm sorry! Thank you to those of you that still love this story to death and are faithful reviewers.**

XXX

I was sitting in between Itachi and Sasuke in their family's black Ford truck (these people had a ton of vehicles, and they were all dark, emo colors too). We had gone to the hardware store to pick up all of the supplies we would need to fix up the guest house. Mikoto and I were going to go to the local store first to get all of my girly goodies, but she got a call from one of her friends that needed her help. She apologized at least five times before I could convince her that it was okay if we went another day. Mine and Itachi's plans to raid the hardware store hadn't changed though, and Sasuke actually opted to come with us. He also informed us at the store that he would help with the redecorating.

I mostly followed the boys around the store while they picked out what we would need (they teased me when I couldn't even pick some paint—I'm a canvas artist, not an interior designer!) When it came time to go to Hobby Lobby though, they were following me around like lost ducks.

I picked out canvases of all sizes, some refills on paint, and some new brushes (all of which I made them carry). Itachi even bought me an easel that he said he would assemble for me.

When it came time to pay, Itachi whipped out his MasterCard, but so did Sasuke. I was surprised when they actually got into a spat about who was going to be paying for me. Afterward, we loaded the the truck bed down with our findings.

Now, Sasuke stared out the window, Itachi drove, focusing on the road ahead, and I sat squished in the middle, trying to make myself as small as possible.

I drummed my fingers on my knees when the song on the radio changed to one of my favorites. I leaned forward and turned up the radio, glancing at Itachi to see if he would object. He just smiled and turned back to the road.

I hummed along with the words before Sasuke interrupted me. "You like _Anna Molly?" _

I turned and faced him with his raised eyebrow. "I like anything from Incubus."

"Some of their songs are okay; like this one."

I feigned a gasp. "Okay, _everything_ from them is awesomely awesome!"

He frowned. "Not everything—some of their stuff is too...._poppy_."

"_Poppy_?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, like you would expect Katy Perry to pop out and start belting the lyrics. Or Oompa Loompas to dance in the background or something."

"...One, Katy Perry rules. And two, _Oompa Loompas_? Really?"

He scowled and crossed his arms, facing the window again. "She's too peppy, and so are they."

"She's _charismatic_, not peppy. And you know you loved them in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!"

"...This isn't the SAT, Sakura. Your fancy dialect doesn't get you any points here."

I stuck my tongue out at him and he smirked. I folded my arms and turned my head away from him, towards his brother. The older boy rolled his eyes and mumbled, "No one would ever believe that you two are graduating in a year...."

The car grew silent.

".....That _is_ a good movie though."

"...Shut up, Itachi."

"...Shut up, Itachi...."

XXX

Sasuke and I stood back while Itachi lowered the tailgate so that we could unload everything. They each grabbed armfuls of canvases and marched them to the gate that led to the backyard. I followed with bags of paint and brushes.

We dumped everything on the guest house floor. I put my hands on my hips and scanned the room.

"I'm going to go get that easel." Itachi said, and headed back through the sliding glass door.

"So," I said, turned to Sasuke. "When do you think we should start?"

He raised his eyebrow and scanned the room. "Well, we need to put in the insulation, paint the walls a few times, move the couch in and out, work on the electric problems..."

"...Is there going to be _anything_ for me to do."

Sasuke scoffed. "We're not doing this by ourselves. It is _your_ studio."

I shrugged. "Well yeah, but there's no way I'm going to be able to lift that couch. And I don't know anything about electricity or insulation. The most I can do is help you paint and lay out the tarps."

"Oh, don't worry," Came Itachi's voice as he set the box containing the parts for the easel down, clapping his hands together. "We're going to put you to work. We'll need a helper after all."

I laughed when another voice, one that I didn't recognize, filled the room. "Oi, Sasuke! Itachi! What's up?"

Itachi turned, allowing me to see a new person that was standing in the entrance of the room. He was a little shorter than Sasuke, with blond, spiky hair that went in all directions. His eyes were a deep blue, lit up with excitement and he had nicely tanned skin.

He bounced further into the room, coming to a stop in front of Sasuke, but it was me that he was looking at.

"Hey, who's this?" He grinned and I couldn't help but smile back.

Sasuke rolled his eyes while Itachi chuckled. "Naruto," spoke Sasuke. "This is Sakura. Sakura, Naruto."

Naruto reached his hand out to shake mine and I gladly accepted the gesture. "Nice to meet you Sakura-chan!"

I giggled at the formality and I think I heard Sasuke tsk.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme!" I frowned at the...er...term of endearment that was added at the end of the emo boy's name. "Why didn't you tell me you had a _lady friend_?"

I didn't know Sasuke for very long, but I had never seen his eyes get so wide. I would've laughed, but my face was beet red and I was silent as I replayed Naruto's comment. He thought that I was...

Itachi busted out laughing. Sasuke thumped Naruto over the head. Hard.

"Ouch! What the heck was that for?"

"She's not my _girlfriend_, you idiot!" Sasuke was practically seething but I couldn't manage and words or even a nod of confirmation.

Itachi spoke, sounding like he had trouble breathing. "Sakura is staying with us while her parents are away, Naruto. She didn't want to go with them, so our mother offered her a place with us."

Naruto blinked. "...Oh...well cool! You've got a cute girl living with you!"

I didn't think that I could blush any harder. I glanced at Itachi who still looked like he was fighting off a fit of laughter. Then I turned to Sasuke who was glaring hard at Naruto and looked like he was fighting off hitting him again.

Naruto looked at all of us before shrugging and wandering over to the couch. Sasuke muttered what sounded like the word idiot.

"Well," started Itachi. "I'm going inside. You kids have fun now." He winked at me and waved to the boys, the dark and gloomy one grunting in return.

An awkward silence followed Itachi's departure.

"..."

"..."

"......Someone say something!"

_Thwack._

"Ow! Sasuke-teme, what was that for?"

"You didn't need to throw the paint at him Sasuke...."

XXX

"So, I'm just eating my Ramen and Sasuke's over here getting mauled by this chick, and jeez, she was HUGE!"

I laughed at another one of Naruto's stories. We had all been in the guest house for maybe an hour and I was already loving Naruto. He was like the brother I always wanted....or the pet hamster. Whichever comes first.

I eventually relocated to the couch, sitting cross-legged while Naruto was sprawled out with his long legs draped over my lap. Sasuke leaned against the wall next to the couch acting all cool (except he's NOT...sort of...) and like he couldn't care less about what we were doing (even though he was twitching as Naruto told his stories and would glare at him whenever he nudged my arm or leg).

I glanced over at Sasuke, expecting him to object to being mauled by one of his huge fangirls, but his gaze was turned downwards towards his phone that was open in his palm. He was rapidly texting. Naruto must have noticed that neither of our attention was on him because he asked, "Hey, Sasuke, what's going on?"

Knowing that he was referring to his texting, Sasuke closed the phone with a snap and glanced up at him with a smirk in place. "How would you like to go to a Hyuuga party?"

"........NO WAY! THE HYUUGA'S ARE THROWING A PARTY?"

"Um...what's a Hyuuga?"

They both turned to me, Naruto with a shocked expression and Sasuke with a blank one.

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT THE HYUUGA FAMILY?" Naruto shouted. He looked like he was about to yell even more, but he was silenced when Sasuke threw one of the few pillows from the couch at him, smacking him in the face.

"Wait," I said, bringing their attention back to me. "The Hyuuga family as in Hyuuga Enterprises? They're one of the wealthiest families in the world!"

"That would be them. And they're throwing a party tonight." Sasuke answered.

Naruto threw the pillow back at Sasuke (who caught it...asshole). "And their parties are legendary! They have a huge place, tons of food, lots of dancing, loads of music-"

"Basically," Sasuke interrupted. "It's definitely a party worth going to."

I shrugged. "Well....have fun?"

They looked at me like I had a mental problem.

"...What?"

"You're coming with us!" Naruto yelled.

I blinked. Sure, going to a notorious party my first week here sounded great, but stuff like this was all about status. I had no status here, and the only people I knew that were going to be there was were Naruto and Sasuke, and I didn't want them to feel like they had to babysit me.

"Really, that's okay. I'm sure it'll be more fun without-"

"You're going." Sasuke said, not letting me finish my complaint.

I opened my mouth to object but he gave me a look that said that I was going to that party if he had to drag me there.

"...Fine. I'll come with you."

"YEAH!" Naruto yelled, looping an arm around my shoulders. "You're going to have a blast, Sakura-chan!"

I smiled, hoping that it didn't give away how nervous I was.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't you have to go get ready, dobe? It starts in," He looked at his phone for the time. "About two hours."

The blond's eyes widened and he jumped up. "Bye guys, see you there!" He was out the door before either of us could give a proper goodbye.

I glanced at the raven haired boy. "It takes him two hours to get ready? I don't even take that long to get ready."

"Tch, he's a real girl when it comes to getting dressed."

I laughed and bounced up, standing next to him. "Speaking of which, I have no idea what to wear."

He gave me a look that said, _Why are you telling me this? _

I whacked his arm. "I don't know what to wear to this sort of thing, and it's not like I have a ton of party clothes to choose from."

He looked at the spot where I whacked him, then he roamed his eyes over me, making me feel self-conscious. "Dress...like you."

He walked to the glass doors and I stood there in silence before following following him.

XXX

I looked at myself in the full-length mirror on the closet door. After showering, I tugged on a pair of my favorite faded jeans. The next challenge had been rummaging my closet for a suitable top. I found a satin, purple halter top that Ino had given me for Christmas. The finishing touches were sliding into a pair of black flats, tying a few bands around my wrists, and putting a purple flower barrette in my hair to hold my bangs out of my face. I had decided to leave my hair down.

I considered applying make-up, but I only put on a thin coat of lip gloss.

I sighed. _It's now or never. _

Sasuke said he was going to take me there, and I just nodded. I walked to the door, opening it to find the man himself standing there.

He was wearing his typical dark jeans with a pair of black Converse. His shirt was a black button up with the top few buttons undone, showing his white under-shirt. The long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his toned forearms and giving him a relaxed look.

He cleared his throat, making me realize that I was staring. I glanced up towards his face which was gazing back at me.

"You look nice..." He said quietly, almost like he wasn't sure whether to say it or not.

"Thanks," I mumbled, my cheeks heating up a bit. "You do too."

He cleared his throat again and gestured me towards the stairs with his head. We made our way down the hall, stairs, and out to the garage. It surprised me how cool his parents were with the fact that we were going to a party. They only said, "Don't drink." And Mikoto told Sasuke to keep me safe, to which he gave a firm nod that made me feel sure that he would do just that.

He flipped the garage light on and I walked ahead of him, towards the row of cars.

"Wrong way, Sakura."

I turned towards him with a look of confusion on his face before I realized what he was standing by.

His motorcycle.

He picked up two helmets, holding one out to me.

"No...oh, no...no no no no..." I repeated.

He gave me a cocky grin and said tauntingly, "Scared?"

"Um, yeah?" I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It probably was.

Now he rolled his obsidian eyes towards the ceiling. "Relax. I know how to drive, and I promised that I would keep you safe."

"And? Is that supposed to convince me?"

"Sakura..."

I glanced between him and the metal death trap a few more times before I sighed dejectedly. "Fine..." I marched over and snatch the helmet from his hand, putting it over my head.

He chuckled and put his own helmet on, swinging his leg over the bike and starting the engine. I mimicked his motion, glad that I didn't opt to wear a skirt. I hesitantly placed my hands on his waist, hearing him chuckle again.

"You're going to have to hold on tighter than that." He said over the noise of the garage door opening ahead of us.

Before I could protest he revved the engine and I grabbed his waist in a vise, pressing my head against his back. He sped out of the garage and we were on the street before I knew it.

"Do you not know what a speed limit is?" I yelled, afraid to pick my head up.

He glanced back at me and I could see a smirk from behind his visor.

We sped down the street and I squeezed his waist even tighter whenever we made a corner, afraid that I would fall off any second. At one point, we were only going straight for a while, so I picked my head up and chanced a look around me. Everything sped by in a blur of lights and color, but instead of terrifying me, it looked beautiful. The wind rushing against my bare arms gave me excited goosebumps, and I felt a bit of a rush at being on the bike now.

I laughed out loud and I think Sasuke heard me because he laughed too.

Just as I began to think that this wasn't so bad, we started to slow down and I went back to hugging him in a death grip.

When I realized we were stopped and that he was putting the kick petal down, I leaned up and took my helmet off.

We were parked on the street in front of a huge, white mansion.

XXX

**Tada! An update! **


	9. Hyuuga Bash

**Title: **The Boy Guide

**Pairing: **Sasuke and Sakura

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I know. I haven't updated in years and I apologize. But for those of you that are still fans, here's the next installment. The update status for this and my other stories are written on my profile for those that are curious. Enjoy!

…

I pulled off my helmet to get a better view of the house. It looked completely amazing and white and crowded what with all of the people pouring in through the gates.

"And I thought _your _house was big..."

Sasuke swung off of the bike, putting his helmet on the seat. "My house _is _big, Sakura."

"Well yeah, but this place is ginormous!"

He rolled his eyes. "My house is bigger than this one. It really shouldn't overwhelm you."

"...Careful, Sasuke. Your ego is showing."

He gave me a deadpanned look.

I got off of his bike and placed my helmet next to his. Sasuke motioned towards the front gates with his head before walking off, hands in his pockets. I hurried to follow after him and soon we were among several of the other people that were making their way to the entrance.

The mansion only grew in size as we approached the wide double doors. They were propped open to accommodate the throng of party-goers.

We stepped inside and I froze, looking around at the large space.

There were people everywhere. A huge staircase was off to the left and led up to an even bigger looking second floor. There were a couple of hallways to the left, to the right, even straight back, and the sound of loud bass music was coming from one of them, but I couldn't tell which.

Someone bumped my shoulder, causing me to stumble. I hurriedly stepped to the side as I was about to get trampled by someone else who looked like he could be either a linebacker or a human/truck hybrid.

I pressed my back against the wall, tentatively placing my hands behind me. This was one of the reasons that I didn't want to come. Huge ragers like this were Ino's thing, I just tagged along and socialized with our mutual friends. Now, I was at a party way bigger than any of the ones I had ever been to and I didn't know anyone.

Something bumped my elbow and I looked to find Sasuke staring down at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You okay?"

I looked back at all of the unfamiliar faces. I couldn't tell Sasuke that I was intimidated. He would just think that I was stupid then, and I was finally in a sort of awkward I-respect-you-and-you-respect-me relationship with him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He scoffed, leaning against the wall next to me. "You're lying."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Okay, fine. I'm just not sure what to do."

He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. "What do you normally do at parties?"

I shrugged, saying, "I just hung out with my friends. But I don't know anyone here and this place is way bigger than anywhere I've ever been. You know, except for your house."

Sasuke smirked. "Then you shouldn't have a problem navigating. And you know Naruto and I."

"Yeah, but I would feel bad just following you guys around. It would feel like you're babysitting me or something."

"We invited you, Sakura. We're not just going to abandon you."

"Hello, Sasuke."

We both turned to see a girl standing in front of us. Her hair was very long and almost looked violet in the light. She also had pale, pupil-less eyes, something I had never seen before but looked oddly nice on her.

Sasuke nodded his head. "Hinata."

She smiled shyly, returning his nod before turning to me. "Hello, my name is Hinata Hyuuga."

I couldn't help smiling back at her. "Hi! I'm Sakura Haruno."

Hinata nodded again. "I know. Naruto told me that he and Sasuke were bringing someone with them. He said you live with Sasuke?"

I don't know why I was blushing, but I was. "Uhm, yeah. I'm staying with his family for a little while." I suddenly realized something. "Wait, Hyuuga? So, this is your home? And your party?"

She blushed and tugged nervously at the white sleeves of her blouse. "Yes, and yes. My father does things like this from time to time."

Her explanation made no sense to me, but I figured I wouldn't press for more details.

"Hey, guys! You made it!"

Naruto came bouncing up, stopping next to Hinata. Her face burned a bright red and she seemed to have trouble meeting his gaze.

I smiled. "Hey, Naruto."

He grinned, "You look great, Sakura!"

I laughed. His enthusiasm was contagious. "Thanks! You don't look half bad yourself."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and turned to Sasuke. "So, did you want to go say hi to Neji and the others?"

"Later." I saw Sasuke glance my way, but I wasn't exactly sure if I was supposed to notice or not.

"C'mon, Sasuke! You're always the party pooper!"

"Go see your friends," I said to Sasuke. "I think I'll hang out with Hinata. I like her already." I smiled at her and she returned the gesture.

"Well, I'm sure they would love to meet you too!" Naruto said to me. "Plus, me and Sasuke said we were going to look out for you, and we will!"

I lowered my head a little, suddenly feeling bashful. It really was sweet that they were both planning on staying with me, even if it meant not getting to really hang out with their friends.

"Guys, really. You don't have to follow me around. If I need you, I promise I'll come find you. And like I said, I'll be with Hinata."

She nodded. "Yes, I won't let her get lost."

Naruto grinned at her. "Thanks, Hinata! You're always super nice! And Sakura," He turned to me, holding out his phone. "Put your number in, that way I can come and find you if I need to!"

I smiled, taking his phone and punching my number into his contact list. I handed it back to him and he turned to Sasuke. "The guys are out back. Come on whenever you're ready."

Sasuke only scoffed and Naruto rolled his eyes and disappeared in the crowd of people.

"I was just going to meet a friend of mine in the kitchen. I would love to introduce you to her." Hinata said. I nodded and moved to follow her when Sasuke's hand touched my shoulder. I turned back to him and he held his own phone out to me.

"Give me your number." He gave no explanation as to why, but I got the idea. He may need to find me later and he was my ride home.

I took the device from him and repeated the number I had already entered into Naruto's phone before giving it back.

He stared at me for a moment before nodding to both me and Hinata. Then he left in the same direction as Naruto.

…

I followed Hinata down a few different hallways, dodging the other guests while trying to hear her speak. She was motioning to all of the different places we were passing, telling me which one was which. I really did like her.

"And this," she said. "Is the kitchen."

The room looked like it probably belonged in a five star restaurant rather than a house. This room, like all of the others, was filled to bursting with people.

"How do you know so many people?" I shouted the last word so that I would be heard over the cheers of people gathered around the kitchen island. Apparently, someone was making a pyramid out of soda cans. It really surprised and pleased me that no one seemed to be drinking any alcohol.

Hinata looked off to the side. "Actually, I don't. I only recognize a few people."

"Why were they invited if you don't know them?"

"My father likes events like this because it creates some publicity for himself as well as my other relatives. I only invited a few close friends, as did my cousin and my sister. Everyone else sort of just heard about it and decided to show up."

"I think they're a bunch of freeloaders, personally."

I turned to see a girl and a boy that looked to be about my age. The girl had a grin on her face and her hair tied up into two buns. The boy's hair was probably the brightest shade of red I had ever seen.

Hinata smiled at them. "Sakura, this is Tenten and Gaara."

I gave a small wave. "Hello."

"This is Sakura. She came here with Naruto and Sasuke."

Tenten raised her eyebrows at me. "Really? Wow! I understand you being a friend of Naruto's, but Sasuke? He rarely talks to anyone let alone women."

I shrugged, trying not to look as awkward as I felt. "Yeah, well, I'm actually kind of living with him at the moment."

Now both of them gave me bewildered looks.

"It's a long story."

Tenten recovered first. "I want to hear it as soon as I go grab another drink. You want one?"

"Yeah, thanks." I replied.

I watched her leave, catching Gaara's eyes as I did. I tried to smile.

He gave me a polite nod. "It's nice to meet you, Sakura."

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you too."

Hinata said, "Tenten and Gaara are both friends of mine and my cousin, Neji."

Gaara mumbled, "She also happens to be dating Neji."

I laughed. "Well, Hinata, if they ever decide to get married you know that you like her."

She laughed and turned to Gaara. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"He was with Naruto and Sasuke the last I saw."

"Are you friends with them too?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes..."

"I hope you like Root Beer!" Tenten yelled over the crowd upon her return.

She tossed me the can and popped the top on her own.

"So, are you and Sasuke together or something?"

I choked and tried to play it off by clearing my throat. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't working too well.

"No, we're not dating or anything like that."

"Oh? So, why are you living with him?"

"My parents wanted to move and I didn't. They're friends with the Uchihas and they offered to let me stay with them for a little while."

Tenten gave me a look of appraisal. "Damn, girl, look at you go! You're _living _with the Uchihas!"

Hinata giggled. "It _is _pretty impressive..."

I hoped I wasn't blushing. I put my focus on my drink, acting like my soul purpose in life was now popping the tab on the can.

"Seriously! I mean, I wouldn't even have the guts to do that!"

I looked up at Tenten. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, _the _Uchihas? That's a pretty intimidating line of people."

"They're really not that bad. Sasuke's mom is incredibly sweet and Itachi is super nice too. Fugaku hasn't really said much to me...and Sasuke and I had a...rough start. But now we're kind of friends I guess..."

My argument didn't convince me let alone the three people I was speaking to. Still, I felt the need to defend them. The Uchihas were gracious enough to welcome me, a stranger, into their home for an extended stay. The only bad thing about my new home was my rocky start with the youngest Uchiha, and even if I didn't exactly know where we stood now, it was still better than where we were in the beginning.

Luckily, Hinata came to my rescue. "I agree with Sakura. The Uchihas are a nice family."

Tenten held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, whatever, I believe you. Now, who wants to hit the dance floor?"

She was already walking down the hallway before any of us could answer her.

I motioned for Hinata to lead the way since I obviously had no clue where anything was. Gaara and I followed her down the hall.

I glanced over at Gaara and suddenly took notice of his shirt. It had the name of a high school in Suna written on it.

"Hey! You lived in Suna?"

He turned to me, a little surprised by my random comment.

"Yes. I moved here last year with my brother and sister."

I grinned. Finally, a kindred spirit.

"I used to live there too. You know, until I moved here."

Gaara smiled at me. "Do you miss it?"

"Yeah. Especially all of my friends. But Konoha is pretty nice too."

He nodded. "It is...there are a lot of things here that are very different from Suna."

I took a sip from my drink and shrugged. "I haven't really gotten a chance to see anything yet, what with moving in and all."

"I see...perhaps I'll have to show you around sometime."

I felt my cheeks flush. It was nice to meet so many friendly people like Hinata and Gaara. Especially since one of them shared my background and seemed like he maybe understood my difficult transition.

"Here we are."

I almost couldn't hear Hinata's quiet voice over the music. It looked like we were in a large den, but it had been converted into a dance floor with the addition of a stereo in the corner. All of the furniture was shoved against the walls.

I spotted Tenten waving at us with a free hand, the other one gripping the shoulder of her dance partner.

Judging by his white eyes and his hands on her waist, I was willing to bet that he was her boyfriend and Hinata's cousin.

I could feel the bass beating in my bones, shaking my frame with the rhythm of the catchy tune that was playing. I started bobbing my head and swinging my hips, getting into the song.

Tenten laughed and motioned us closer.

Hinata blushed bright red and Gaara didn't make any movement at all, so I took them by the arms and pulled them with me onto the dance floor.

It took a little coaxing, but they both started to sway along with me. Hinata laughed when I took her hands and started dancing with her.

We spun in a wide circle and I nearly ran into Gaara. He caught my shoulder just before we could collide and smirked at me.

"Easy there."

I laughed. "Dance with me?"

He placed a hand on my waist, pulling me closer as he moved into step with me.

Tenten whooped from a few feet away. "Go Sakura!"

Hinata laughed and bumped hips with me. I couldn't ever remember having this much fun at a party.

"Hey! Mind if I cut in?"

I turned to see Naruto standing at my shoulder with a wide grin on his face.

Gaara took a step back, graciously offering me up to Naruto. I smiled at him and he returned it before turning to exit.

Naruto quickly got into the rhythm.

"So, you met Gaara?"

"Yeah! He's really cool, and we're both from Suna!"

"Really? Sweet! It seems like he likes you."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Just, he's kind of quiet. You know, like Sasuke. Except nicer."

Naruto shouted that last part off to the side and I turned in that direction. Sasuke was standing at the edge of the dance floor with his arms folded. His eye roll must've meant that he heard Naruto's comment.

I grinned and motioned him forward with my hand. He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Excuse me," I said to Naruto. He laughed as I maneuvered between the dancers, knowing exactly what I planned to do.

I stopped in front of Sasuke. "Dance with me."

He simply stared back at me. "I don't dance."

I was not prepared to take no for an answer, whether it made him angry or not. I grabbed hold of his wrists and pulled him towards the crowd. He could have very easily resisted my tugging, but he didn't and continued to let me drag him until I was back in the area near my new found friends.

It was a little awkward just standing there with him, but I forced myself to get back into the rhythm of the music.

I laughed and nudged his shoulder when he still wasn't moving.

"Come on. You can't tell me that Sasuke Uchiha is afraid of a little dancing."

Even over the volume I could hear him scoff. "Scared?"

"You heard me." I gave him a haughty expression, daring him to prove me wrong.

He surprised me when he gripped my hips with both hands and pulled me closer, easily swinging into the beat of the music.

I blushed and hoped that it would pass as heat from dancing in a space packed with people.

Sasuke smirked. "How's that for scared?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course he wouldn't turn down a challenge.

He was staring at me with those dark eyes of his, his hips swinging in time with mine and I could feel the temperature steadily rising with every movement.

Without really thinking about it I wrapped one arm around the back of his neck.

We were dancing, what more could it possibly be than that?

"Damn!"

I jumped a little when Naruto's voice hit my eardrums. Sasuke glared at him.

"Even with all of _this _noise you're still loud as hell."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort and I stepped back, letting Sasuke's hands fall away from me.

He watched me from the corner of his eyes as Naruto yelled some scathing comment.

I grappled for an excuse. "I'm going to go get a drink—it's hot in here."

I quickly ducked between people, the music and voices drowned out from the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.

…

A few hours later I was standing with Hinata and Tenten who had found me soon after I had exited the den. Hinata complemented my dance moves. Tenten said I looked "smokin' hot dancing with Sasuke like _that_" and wiggled her eyebrows. I stared at anything but her.

Really, all I intended to do was have some fun and pull the ever anti-social Uchiha onto the dance floor. I had no idea it would turn me into a confused, blushing mess.

I shook my head, redirecting my attention to Tenten who was recounting some story about getting kicked out of a department store when I felt someone tap my shoulder.

It was Gaara.

He nodded. "Ladies."

Tenten paused to smile at him. "Hey, Gaara!"

He turned to Hinata. "I'm leaving now and just wanted to say thank you for inviting me. It was fun."

Hinata smiled. "Of course, anytime."

Then he turned to me. "Sakura, I wanted to know if I could have your phone number." He smirked. "In case you wanted that tour sometime."

I laughed wholeheartedly. Anyone else would have probably thought that Gaara was hitting on me, but I knew better.

"Yeah, sure." I rattled off my phone number to him as he pressed the numbers into his phone. I noticed Tenten doing the same.

"Sorry, Sak, but you're way too much fun for me _not _to have your number!"

We shared a laugh and waved goodbye to Gaara.

Not ten minutes later I felt my phone vibrating in my pocked. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. When I didn't recognize the number I opened up a new text message to read it.

_Sakura, it's Sasuke. We need to leave._

I looked up at Tenten and Hinata. "Hey, it's time for me to go. This was a lot of fun."

They both smiled at me. "It was a pleasure to have you."

"Yeah, we need to get together and hang out again soon! I'll call you."

I grinned, making my way to the front doors. "Thanks! Bye!"

I whipped out my phone as I walked down the driveway.

_Okay. I'm outside._

His reply was instantaneous.

_I'm already at the bike._

I put my phone away and turned down the sidewalk.

A sudden panic came over me. The last time I saw Sasuke was a few hours ago after we were dancing and—

I wondered if it was too late to beg Tenten or Naruto for a ride home.

I stopped when I recognized the familiar motorcycle and it's rider.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at my frozen state. "I'll drive slower."

I walked forward on wobbly legs, glad that he took my reaction for another kind of fear.

…

We pulled to a stop just a few feet from the steps leading to the front door. I removed my arms from around Sasuke's waist as soon as I was able to without the fear of flying off the back of the bike.

Sasuke held his hand out for my helmet which I handed to him. He placed a set of keys in my fingers.

He motioned his head to the front door when I only offered him a confused look.

"You can go through the front door. I need to put the bike in the garage."

I nodded and backed up towards the steps. "Where should I put them when I'm in?"

"Just leave them on the living room table."

I turned to jog up the steps. As soon as I had the keys in the door I heard him call my name.

I looked at him from over my shoulder. He was staring at me.

"Thanks for the dance."

My face was undoubtedly red as a stuttered out a quiet, "You're welcome."

I flew through the door when he smirked at me.

…

**Entry 2**

**Some boys are—surprisingly—very easy to get along with and are not confusing at all (namely one nice redhead named Gaara. He's from Suna too!). **

**Some boys are—unsurprisingly—very confusing (namely Sasuke who spends one day hating your guts and the next day doing a very sexy dance with you). Do they make cheat guides for this kind of stuff?**

…

No, I have not forgotten about or given up on this story. I hope you enjoyed this!


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